A natural product is a chemical compound or substance produced by a living organism - found in nature that usually has a pharmacological or biological activity for use in pharmaceutical drug discovery and drug design. A natural product can be considered as such even if it can be prepared by total synthesis.
These small molecules provide the source or inspiration for the majority of FDA-approved agents and continue to be one of the major sources of inspiration for drug discovery. In particular, these compounds are important in the treatment of life-threatening conditions.
Read more about Natural Product: Natural Sources, Screening of Natural Products, Traditional Medicine, Isolation and Purification, Synthesis, Drugs, Publications
Famous quotes containing the words natural and/or product:
“It is natural for the mind to believe and for the will to love; so that, for want of true objects, they must attach themselves to false.”
—Blaise Pascal (1623–1662)
“Out of the thousand writers huffing and puffing through movieland there are scarcely fifty men and women of wit or talent. The rest of the fraternity is deadwood. Yet, in a curious way, there is not much difference between the product of a good writer and a bad one. They both have to toe the same mark.”
—Ben Hecht (1893–1964)